Category: nail polish

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Drippy Glitter Blood Nails ✨🩸

Hello lovelies & happy Friday. & Happy Halloween Eve! Can you believe that Halloween is just 1 day away? This month has sped by, & holiday items are already starting to sneak into stores. Even though I had to see my favourite holiday almost be over, there is a small part of me so excited for the Christmas season. This will be our first time (ever) living right downtown at Christmas time, & I can’t wait to see the city come alive for it!

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s still spooky season for a couple more days, & naturally I need to sneak in one more spooky design!

If you’ve been here a while, I love a drippy blood look for Halloween. & it occurred to me… I’ve never done a negative space base for this look.

The polishes I used for this manicure are:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
  • Top Coat: Sinful Colors Power Paint Top Coat + Essie Good To Go
  • Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Society Ruler
  • Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Red It Twice
  • NailStuff 7mm Mermaid Tail Liner Brush

Sometimes I get nervous about using a negative space base, because I’m a little self conscious about my yellowed nails. I know it’s a result of painting my nails… a lot. But sometimes I wish they were more pink & less yellow.

However, I think this look is so fun! I’ve always loved a drippy blood manicure for Halloween, & this one is perfect. & I feel like my free handing has got so much more natural & really looks like it could be blood dripping down my nails… glittery, sparkly blood.

What do you think of this design? Would you wear this look? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below.

& happy Halloween! 🎃 👻

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SWATCH SUNDAY — OPI DS Bold (Designer Series)

Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! It’s beautiful & sunny, but with that Autumn crisp chill that makes bundling in layers necessary! But it’s worth it for that crisp sound as you walk over fallen leaves.

It’s Sunday, so you know what that means: Swatch Sunday! I missed last week, so I hope some sparkle from (a few) years ago will make up for it. & since October is also my birthday month, I thought some sparkle was in order!

This is OPI DS Bold from the Designer Series collection.

2 coats + top coat

I can’t remember exactly when I picked this shade up — I do know it was either a Winners or Marshall’s find — but it was originally released in 2011 as part of the Designer Series. It is a very tricky packed jelly red… which also gives a little pink depending on the light, with a lot of tiny silver microglitters.

According to the release I read, it’s packed with “diamond dust”.

The formula on this guy is pretty thick after all these years, but not too thick I couldn’t get a good base. The glitters were definitely a bit difficult to remove — as are many glitters — but that could always be remedied with a peel off base coat of you only wanted to wear it for a night.

The glitter is definitely fun & vibrant & was a nice choice to wear. I kind of wish I had the other colour from the same release (Temptation) which is a beautiful indigo purple with the same densely packed glitter finish.

So what do you think of OPI DS Bold? I seriously feel like OPI needs to bring this collection back, because it contains so many fun & unique shades — with a little extra pizzazz.

Happy Sunday!

🖤

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Spooky Purple Shadow Spiderwebs 🕸️

Hello beauties & happy Friday!

I know, I know… I’m the worst. I’m having the worst time staying on task when it comes to posting, so I apologize. But I have a couple days off, so I’m really hoping I can keep on task enough to get some posts scheduled… at least for a couple days.

After all, it’s spooky season… my favourite season. & I want to share some fun designs with you!

Today I want to share a spiderweb design I did recently, which I really feel like is a new take compared to designs I’ve done in the past. I’ve really wanted to do some aura nails, but I keep forgetting to buy make up sponges, so I attempted this design while free handing which didn’t exactly give me the aura effect, but I think they turned out so cool.

The polishes I used for this manicure are:

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Maximum Growth Base Coat
  • Top Coat: Sinful Colors Power Paint Top Coat + Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat
  • Sally Hansen Color Therapy Slicks & Stones
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Purple Prism
  • Sally Hansen InstaDri Cosmic Blue
  • NailStuff Essentials Raven
  • NailStuff 7mm Mermaid Tail Liner Brush

Okay.. I’m obsessed.

Yes, I saw that frequently with my nail art designs but like… come on, this one turned out so perfect. The aura is giving more galaxy, but I think that is awesome. It’s like the shadow of a spiderweb against the night sky, or something. But I love the way the spiderweb is almost hidden, & then BAM! It’s there.

& I love that the idea I had came to fruition, more or less. I’ve done quite a few spiderweb nail looks over the years, but this one is hands down my favourite. Spooky, & subtle — I just love them so much!

What do you think about this spiderweb look? Do you love this subtle shadow effect, as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below! & as a bonus, let me know what your favourite Halloween/Spooky season nail art look to do is? I’m always curious what other people are doing this time of year.

Happy Friday!

♥︎

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SWATCH SUNDAY — Sally Hansen Color Therapy Slicks & Stones

Good morning lovelies & happy Sunday! & happy Canadian Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians!

I’ve been so busy with work I feel like I haven’t had a chance to really go check out the Fall nail polish collections near me. Winners is calling me. But in the meantime, I’ve been trying to pull from my own nail polish stash, & wear seasonal appropriate shades that I already own.

Case in point: this beautiful purple shade from Sally Hansen’s Color Therapy line — which I think I purchased back when the line was originally released circa 2016. This is Slicks & Stones.

2 coats + top coat.

First thing I noticed is the colour appears much darker on my nails than in the bottle. I feel like the beautiful metallic shimmer didn’t transfer as much to my nails as it looks in the bottle — but that could be down to me not shaking the bottle enough… maybe? Either way, I love the colour of this point. It’s deep, & dark, & purple. An absolute banger shade for these cooler October nights!

Close up. Again, you can see the difference between the shade on the nails & the much larger metallic glitter in the bottle. It’s a shame it doesn’t look exactly like the bottle, but the colour is so gorgeous & a little bit witchy.

So I’m a bit confused if this line is still available to purchase — I did find some listings on Amazon & it’s listed on the Sally Hansen website, but I can’t remember the last time I found it out in the wild, so your guess is as good as mine!

What do you think of Sally Hansen Color Therapy Slicks & Stones? Do you love this beautiful purple as much as I do? Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below because I’d love to know what you think!

Happy Sunday ♥︎

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Hand-painted Jack O Lanterns 🎃✨

Hello lovelies & happy Tuesday.

I know my posting schedule is all over the place, but between life, family, sickness & work, I’m just trying to make sure this blog gets my attention — even if it’s not on the same schedule I have been posting! Especially this month, my favourite month. I have been busy busy busy on Pinterest saving a lot of Halloween nail art ideas, & then enviably spending a lot of time narrowing down which one I want to do first.

Naturally, I decided to start with pumpkins. I’m a basic bitch who loves her pumpkin spice, so it just felt very fitting.

The polishes I used for this manicure are: 

  • Base Coat: Sally Hansen Maximum Growth Base Coat 
  • Top Coat: Sinful Colors Power Paint Top Coat + Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat
  • OPI I Sing In Color
  • Essie Sparkle On Top
  • Essie Handmade With Love
  • Essie Fall for NYC
  • Essie Willow in the Wind
  • OPI Barefoot in Barcelona
  • Essie Cliffhanger
  • NailStuff Essentials Raven
  • NailStuff 7mm Liner Brush

I created my base with Sparkle on Top over I Sing In Color, & then sat back & tried to think what would look best over top. But pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns just felt like the obvious choice. I painted my pumpkins first, & then decided a few of them needed faces, so added them after the fact.

What do you think of these Halloween jack-o-lanterns? Do you like this handprinted design? I’d love to know what you think about this look & if you would wear this design on your nails!

To me, it’s the perfect look for spooky season!

♥︎